Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1887-02-25
AleXandria's Big Boom.

Alexandria is expecting big "boom"
to her business interests through the in
auguration Of an extensive ship building
enterprise at the yards in that city. which
is about to take place. The marine rail
road and shipyard at that place have re-
Gently been purchased by the Arrow
Steamship and Ship Building Company
of New York, strong corporation pro
vided with abundant capital, and this
company proposes to enter at once upon
the construction of a number of large and
magnificent iron and steel ocean passenger
steamships, to be built upon an entirely
new plan and model.
The model of the first of these ships
which is to be built has already been COM
pleted by Mr. Robert NJ. Fryer, the chief
engineer of the company. She is to be
called the Pocahontas and her dimensions
and specifications are thus described by
the New York Tribune:
"The Pocahontas is to be an iron and steel
ship, and instead of being built on lateral lines,
as has always been the custom, she will be
built upon sixty-eight transverse steel walls or
bulkheads, seven and a. half feet apart, each of
the full size and accurate shape of cross Sec
ton of the vessel. These walls will have open
ings cut in them for the saloons, passsge-ways,
tunnels, etc, with vertical longitudinal walls
through them, thus making 900 water-tight
compartments, of which 500 are to be below W
! the water-line. She will be provided with
cou nd of0
able of giving u speed Of twenty-five knots An
hour. There will be twenty boilers to furnish
steam for the main engines, placed fore and aft
of the vessel, with three smoke pipes on each
side Of the ship next TO the rail. What effect
heavy seas will have on the smoke-pipes thus
arranged remains to be seen. Her dimensions
are to be $40 feet in length. 40 feet beam, and
draught of water 254 feet"
1t is said that twelve such vessels are to
be constructed at the Alexandria yards,
each to bear historic Indian name. MIR.
Fryer states that the completion of these
vessels will mark an era of revolution in
the trans Atlantic trade, since they are to
be constructed upon a new principle and
with an estimated speed to make the voy-
age from New York to Liverpool ia less
than 6 days. Mr.. Fryer claims to have
devised these ships in such a way as to g.
void most of the infirmities of the ships
now ems aged in the trans Atlantic psssen-
ger traffic. Having no combustible mate
rial about them, except the doors of the
saloons, they will be, it is claimed, pracri-
cally freproof; and their numerous and
well appointed water tight compartments
are expected to avoid all dangers from
collision.
1t is said that three THOUSAND workmep
will be engaged in the construction of
these vessels and, if all the plans of this
company are carried out. decided boom
will cer':inly be given to the industrial,
commercial and other material interests
of the ancient city. And the prosperity
which this enterprise will bring to the
city will also extend itself in some meas
ure to the neighboring country on both
sides of the Potomac. 1t is gratifying to
observe that the advantages of our section
of the country are gradually being found
out. There is no doubt that in time we
will see and feel generally through this
pait-af the South the revolutions of the
Hheeis Of Sraoress